Hugh Jackman's next turn as Wolverine won't be directed by Darren Aronofsky after all.

The "Black Swan" director (in a joint statement with 20th Century Fox) said, "As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, who have been totally supportive throughout my work on the movie, it became clear that the production of 'The Wolverine' would keep me out of the country for almost a year."

He went on to say that he was dropping out of the project because he did not want to be away from his family for that long, adding, "I am sad that I won't be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again."

Aronofsky spoke about the movie in an iReport shot by Chris Barrett in December: "I've made five movies where I'm the only person in the room who wanted to make the movie. I'm excited to do something where everyone wants me, so I'll see what I can do."

Fans, many of whom had high hopes of what Aronofsky would do with the character, swiftly reacted on Twitter: "If true that movie just went from must see to don't bother," tweeted DemiYemii.

Not everyone agreed that it was a bad thing, though. Micster tweeted, "Good. Was a weird choice for him to direct."

Fox, meanwhile, is focusing on the future. In a statement, the studio said, "While we are of course disappointed that Darren can’t do ‘The Wolverine’, we also understand and respect his reasons...Hugh Jackman and Fox both remain fully committed to making ‘The Wolverine.' We will regroup and move forward aggressively.”

Now, it's your turn: Are you now less likely to see "The Wolverine" due to this announcement?

soundoff(5 Responses)

Requiem always seemed like a bad trip, and was kinda first year film schooly. I liked Black Swan until I saw Perfect Blue and thought "wow, the theme here is so close( but done better), he had to have seen it." I was wrong. He bought the rights to it years ago. Totally ruined Black Swan for me. I'm glad he won't ruin Wolverine.